Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid Lineups September 2026 – Liverpool and Atletico Madrid will begin their 2026/2027 Champions League campaign with a highly anticipated league phase encounter at Liverpool's home ground.

The match is scheduled to take place at Anfield on Wednesday, September 09, 2026, at 20.00 local time.

This fixture is a repeat of last season's matchday one encounter, when The Reds secured a 3-2 home victory over the Spanish side, with Virgil van Dijk scoring the winning goal in the 92nd minute.

As the opening match of both teams' Champions League campaigns this season, the encounter at Anfield will be an important test for both Liverpool and Atletico Madrid.

Before the match begins, let us take a look at Mansion Sports' predicted Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid lineups for September 2026 below.

Condition of Both Teams Ahead of the Match

Liverpool

After coming from behind to salvage a point in two consecutive 2-2 draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, Liverpool celebrated their first victory of the Andoni Iraola era last Friday when they secured a 2-0 away win over Ipswich Town.

Two goals scored within the opening nine minutes by “big player” Alexander Isak ensured that Iraola did not become the first Liverpool manager since Brendan Rodgers to fail to record a victory in his first three matches in the top flight, with the Spanish coach admitting that his team “needed that win with the situation that was happening”.

Iraola is now preparing to experience Champions League football for the first time as a manager, with six-time champions Liverpool seeking to improve upon last season's quarter-final finish and end an eight-year wait to lift Europe's most prestigious club trophy.

Including results from last season, Liverpool have scored in each of their last nine competitive matches in all competitions, scoring at least two goals in six of those matches, since they were eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals by eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain in April after suffering a 4-0 aggregate defeat.

The Reds enter this year's league phase after finishing in the top three of the 36-team standings in each of the last two seasons, becoming champions in 2024-25 and finishing third last season with six wins from eight matches.

They have also won their last six league phase meetings against Spanish teams, recording four clean sheets in their last five matches.

Atletico Madrid

After collecting seven points from their opening three La Liga matches of the new season, Atletico Madrid's unbeaten start came to an end on Saturday when they suffered a deserved 3-0 away defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

Previously known for their intense and disciplined defensive approach, head coach Diego Simeone lamented his team's second-half performance against Athletic, describing it as a “real warning” at this early stage of the season. Atleti have now conceded six goals in the second half across their last three matches.

Simeone is, in fact, the longest-serving manager among the clubs competing in the 2026-27 Champions League, having taken charge of Atletico in December 2011.

The passionate Argentine coach is tasked with guiding a team that have been runners-up three times and were semi-finalists last season to their first title in this competition this season.

Los Rojiblancos enter Wednesday's match against Liverpool seeking their first Champions League group stage/league phase victory over an English team, having previously recorded four draws and six defeats from 10 meetings.

Atleti can at least be confident of scoring against The Reds, having failed to score in only two of their last 24 group stage/league phase matches, while they have failed to score just once in their last five visits to Anfield, recording one win, one draw, and three defeats.

Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid Lineups September 2026

Liverpool (4-2-3-1)

Regarding Liverpool's squad condition, Liverpool duo Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo were not included in the club's Champions League squad, while Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor Bradley, and Giovanni Leoni (both knee) remain sidelined with injuries. There is also uncertainty regarding Joe Gomez's (muscle) availability.

After keeping a clean sheet against Ipswich, Iraola may decide to continue using Barcelona loanee Ronald Araujo at right-back alongside Jeremy Jacquet, Van Dijk, and Milos Kerkez in a back four, while Ryan Gravenberch will look to replace Alexis Mac Allister in the deeper midfield role.

Big-money new signing Bradley Barcola, a two-time Champions League winner with PSG, could be handed his first start for the club on the right, which could see Victor Munoz drop to the bench.

In-form Cody Gakpo is likely to retain his position on the left, with Florian Wirtz operating in the No. 10 position behind striker Isak, who has scored just one goal in 13 Champions League appearances throughout his career.

Atletico Madrid (4-2-3-1)

Regarding Atletico Madrid's squad condition, Alexander Sorloth is expected to miss out with a thigh injury, while Arnau Ortiz is suspended after receiving a red card while playing for Slask Wroclaw in Conference League qualifying in August 2024.

Simeone has a major decision to make in attack, as unsettled forward Julian Alvarez could be considered for a starting role after appearing as a substitute in the defeat against Athletic.

Jonathan David is also a candidate to lead the frontline, while another new signing, Cristian Romero, will hope to make his full debut at centre-back.

Club legend Koke hopes to replace either Morten Hjulmand or Pablo Barrios in midfield.

The Atleti captain will become the 28th player to reach 150 appearances in UEFA club competitions if he features in any capacity at Anfield.

The Liverpool match against Atletico Madrid will mark the opening of both teams' 2026/2027 Champions League campaigns.

With both teams carrying their respective ambitions, the encounter at Anfield will be an important match to begin their campaigns in the league phase.